Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld

Count Ernst Kasimir Friedrich Karl Eberhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld (9 June 1842 – 26 September 1904) was the leader of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe and reigned as the regent of the Principality of Lippe-Detmold from 1897 until his death. On 17 May 1884, Ernst succeeded his father Julius as the Count of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. After the reigning Princes of Lippe-Detmold, the Lippe-Biesterfeld was the senior-most line of the family, followed by the counts of Lipps-Weissenfeld and the princes of Lippe-Schaumburg. When the reigning Prince Woldemar died childless in 1895, his brother Alexander succeeded him, but a regent had to be appointed because of his mental illness.

A secret directive that Woldemar behind appointed Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe as the regent, but Count Ernst challenged this claim for the regency. His claims were backed by the Conservative Party of Lippe, while the National Party supported Prince Adolf. An imperial court in Leipzig nonetheless ruled that Prince Adolf's claim was legitimate, but in 1897 Albert of Saxony made a ruling in favor of the count. The Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe had to resign and thus Ernst took his place, ruling until 1904. However, many did not support this and the troops of the 1st Lippe Infantry Brigade refused to salute him or address him by the proper style.